What Comes Next
by One Hundred Percent Wrong
Summary: Taking place directly after Spider-Man: Homecoming, Peter deals with secret identity crises, maintaining a "friendly neighbourhood" picture, schoolwork as per usual and is perhaps developing a new crush?
1. Discoveries

"What the fuck?!"

Peter, still in his Spider-Man outfit sans mask, instantly spun around in shock only to see a very confused and angry aunt standing at his bedroom doorway. Trying to find an excuse for wearing such a thing, Peter said the first thing that came to mind.

"This is for the school play!" He shouted quickly, but lamely. Seeing the unimpressed, yet still irritated and bewildered look on his aunt's face, Peter sighed in defeat and slumped his shoulders knowing that he couldn't just lie to Aunt May. She would probably piece together everything anyway.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Aunt May spoke in a much softer tone, "So this is what you've been doing, huh? Coming home late, sneaking out at night, leaving Liz at homecoming…"

Seeing tears forming in her eyes, Peter tried to explain without making her cry. "Well… at least I'm not sneaking out to do dru-"

"What about the Stark internship that you had?" She interrupted. "I wonder, how many times have you skipped out on it just so you could go put yourself in danger?"

Peter looked at the ground, just trying to avoid his aunt's eyes. He could either tell her that _this was_ the so-called "Stark internship" and make her dislike Mr. Stark even more, or he could lie to her. _She deserves to know everything,_ he thought. With all that has happened in the last little while, Aunt May deserves the right to know more than anyone.

Looking back up at Aunt May, Peter took a deep breath and said, "Can you wait for me in the living room? I'll get changed and explain everything."

Without a word, his aunt nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

 _So much for having a secret identity_ , thought Peter, as he pushed the spider emblem on the front of his suit, and slipped out of the loosened material. He tossed his suit aside and changed into something a bit more casual. _And so much for homecoming. Of course she had to bring up the fact that I ditched Liz_ , he thought as he slipped into a pair of jeans.

Peter grasped the doorknob and paused. _Everything will be okay. Just please don't freak out May_ , Peter thought to himself, working up the nerve to spill everything.

"Okay, let's do this," he told himself quietly as he opened the door and walked into the living room.

* * *

 _That wasn't too bad_ , thought Peter, as he threw himself onto his bed. Aunt May seemed to have remained calm throughout his whole explanation of Spider-Man. He told her about the day he got bit by the spider, the discovery of his powers, his new suit, and the events that happened in the past few days, including the fact that Mr. Stark had asked him to join the Avengers.

Aunt May had remained quiet throughout the whole thing before she had asked quietly, " _Why didn't you just tell me?"_

Now, that was not an easy question. There were a hundred different reasons for why he didn't tell her about his alter-ego and another hundred for why he should have. But nothing scared him more than seeing his aunt heartbroken. They've both been there before, and Peter didn't know if either of them could experience that feeling again. If she knew it was him that swung from webs, fought criminals, and constantly put himself in danger, his aunt probably couldn't handle it, especially now.

So he had told her truth.

" _I thought that maybe if I kept this a secret, you wouldn't have to worry about losing someone else. I couldn't stand the thought of you being so worried about me." Peter paused and sighed before continuing, "I also keep this a secret so I don't have to worry about losing the people_ _ **I**_ _care about. If these criminals ever found out I was just a kid in high school that lives in Queens, there would be no way I could protect you, Ned, Liz, MJ, or anyone. I won't let anyone die because of me again."_

Everything had been going smoothly up until that point.

 _Aunt May gasped and stared at Peter with wide eyes. Peter's face mirrored hers as he realized what he had just let slip. That information was something he wanted to keep locked away forever._

" _Wh- what do you mean by th- that, Peter?" May questioned, her voice cracking._

 _Peter shut his eyes and realized there was no way around this now. It was his fault and his fault only that he put his aunt through so much pain. He thought there was no way she would ever forgive him if she knew the truth. But she had the right to know. Lately, he's been keeping too many secrets from her and that doesn't sit well for either of them._

 _After a long, tense silence he decided to bite the bullet and tell her what really happened that night nearly a year ago._

" _Earlier that week, I managed to nail my chemistry final," began Peter, opening his eyes. "I told him about it and he wanted to give me some kind of reward for it, so we decided to go out for dinner that Friday. He seemed very pleased about how I had been doing in school." Peter paused, faintly smiling at the memory. "The week went by and I kind of forgot about it. When I was supposed to be meeting him, I was still at school, working on…" He hesitated, "working on my web shooter fluid. I had completely forgot about the dinner." Peter looked away, feeling ashamed for not remembering something so simple._

" _He called me, and said that he was waiting outside the diner for me. I tried to explain to him that I had forgot about the dinner and that I was on my way, but he was pretty upset. He went on about how I should be accountable for my actions and have some sense of liability, then he hung up." Peter now had tears in his eyes. He continued, "I started walking home right after that, only to see a burglar run out of a store with a bag of cash in his hand. I wasn't feeling too great about myself after that phone call, so I- I didn't stop him." said Peter hesitantly, feeling ashamed._

" _He told me something during that phone call that's stuck with me ever since. It's the reason I do what I do, so people don't have to meet the same fate as him. It's the reason I wear a mask and hide my identity from the world. He told me, '_ _ **with great power, comes great responsibility**_ _.'" said Peter, his voice hoarse. Sniffling, he continued, "That was the last thing he ever said to me before that very same burglar shot Uncle Ben on his walk back home."_

Turning around on his bed, Peter dug his face into his pillow, remembering the look on her when he told her that. Seeing his aunt hurt is exactly the thing he had been trying to avoid the whole time.

 _Peter looked back up at May to see that she too had tears in her eyes. Peter felt many emotions hit him all at once, especially guilt, and he felt obligated to hug his aunt. He moved closer to her on the sofa and pulled her into and embrace. They stayed like that in silence for several minutes before Aunt May spoke._

" _It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It was just another obstacle in our lives that we had and still have to push through." May reassured. "Please don't think that I blame you for any of what happened." she whispered._

" _Can't help it though," Peter choked out, still feeling guilty. He wasn't sure if he could ever shake that feeling. "I put him in that situation in the first place and if I had been there, nothing would have happened." Peter shut his eyes tightly and whispered, "I'm so sorry, May."_

 _Aunt May sighed and pulled them out of their hug, and looked Peter in the eye. Though she had tears still covering her face, her lips formed a small, yet understanding smile. "Don't worry. I forgive you, Spider-Man."_

As Peter thought back to their conversation, face still buried in his pillow, his phone buzzed in his Spider-Man suit. Jumping out of bed, Peter reached into his suit pockets, hoping that it was a text from Liz telling him how much she missed him. _Oh wait, I don't have her number_ , he thought as he opened up his phone to see a text message from Ned.

' _Hey'_

Sighing at the simplicity of the text, Peter responded.

' _Hey, what's up_ '

After a couple moments, Ned replied.

' _I got suspended for 3 days_ '

Peter groaned, knowing full well that he would have to go to school with no one to talk to for the next couple days.

' _That sucks :( What for?_ '

' _Watching porn on the school computers lol_ '

Earning a chuckle out of Peter, he jokingly responded.

' _What kind of porn?_ '

' _Spider and vulture porn_ '

Wrinkling his nose in disgust, Peter answered.

' _Wtf man_ '

A few seconds later Ned replied.

' _Nah I'm jk. I was caught using the computers during homecoming while trying to help you out and had to come up with something_ '

Peter laughed for a few seconds before replying.

' _Well I guess I'll see you at school in a few days_ '

With that, Peter threw his phone aside and stood up to get changed into his pyjamas. _No sneaking out tonight_ , he thought, grateful that he didn't have to worry about Toomes anymore. He really wasn't looking forward to school without Ned tomorrow. Getting so caught up in his thoughts about school the next day, Peter almost didn't hear the knock at his door.

"Come in," he voiced, letting his aunt into the room as he finished getting dressed.

Aunt May walked into the room looking in a much better mood than before.

"I've come to a decision." she said, worrying Peter.

 _She's not gonna let me be Spider-Man anymore_ , was the first thought that came to Peter's mind. Suddenly getting desperate, Peter turned and pleaded, "Please don't take Spider-Man away from me; it's all I got."

His aunt merely smirked at him and replied, "What makes you think I'm making you quit Spider-Man?"

Peter looked at her in shock. "What?"

Aunt May smiled and said, "Look, I can't regulate everything you do because I know that wouldn't work anyway. You're a teenager!" Peter just rolled his eyes. "I can't say I'm fond of the idea of jumping between buildings and crashing airplanes, but I know that it's not in my power to stop you."

Not believing his ears, Peter blinked and dumbly repeated, "Wh- What?"

It was Aunt May's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm saying that I'm fine with you being Spider Man, it's a great use of your new powers. Though, I can't say I won't worry for you."

Peter seemed to snap out of whatever shock he was in, and practically jumped for joy, before hugging his aunt for the second time that day.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, th-"

"Alright, alright…" May said in amusement as Peter released her. "Although, I am going to put some restrictions your 'hero duties'." she said with a smirk.

Peter's mood barely shifted, he was already esthetic about the fact that Aunt May approved of Spider-Man.

"Okay, we'll discuss details later, but right now, I'm grounding you from Spider-Man for a week. No leaving the house except for school."

"Wait, wha- why?" questioned Peter, slightly taken aback.

His aunt's face shifted into a pointed look as she replied, "For keeping such a big secret from me! You had me worried that you were sneaking out to do normal teenage things, like drinking past your limits, doing drugs, getting lai-"

Deciding that was enough, Peter cut her off, "Well... I should probably be getting to bed. I've had a few late nights this past week," He joked sheepishly.

Giving him an understanding look, Aunt May said cheekily, "Alright, get some sleep Spider Man, you've got another Spanish quiz tomorrow."

She then reached down and grabbed him Spider-Man suit off of his bedroom floor and said "I'll be holding onto this until your week is up," before smirking and turning around.

With that, his aunt left the room, leaving Peter to his own thoughts. _I can't believe it! She actually doesn't completely hate the fact that I'm Spider-Man!_ Thrilled about not having to give up his alter-ego, Peter started a celebratory dance around his room, before realizing he needing to use the bathroom before crashing for the night. Knowing that his aunt now knew about his powers, Peter decided use the ceiling to make his way to the bathroom.

A short few minutes later, after emptying his bladder and scrubbing his teeth clean, Peter opened the bathroom door to find his aunt waiting for him on the other side.

She gave him a funny look before saying, "I have one more question."

"Shoot," he replied.

"Who's MJ?"

Slightly confused about the seemingly random question, Peter answered, "Oh, that's Michelle. We're in a few classes together and she's the new captain of the decathlon team."

"Oh, I know who Michelle is," responded Aunt May, "I didn't realize you guys had nicknames for each other now," May gave him a cheeky smile and wiggling her eyebrows.

"N- no, it's not like that-"

"Oh yeah," May said, changing topics and seemingly not hearing him. "Liz moved away didn't she? That's why 'MJ' is the new captain, right?" asked May.

Peter cringed. "Yes…" he replied reluctantly. "Thank you for bringing that up." said Peter sarcastically, before muttering, "It's only my fault that Liz had to move away, and she doesn't even know."

Aunt May gave him a sad look before saying, "Stop blaming yourself for everything. It's not your fault that her dad was a bad person." In an attempt to cheer him up after seeing the unhappy look in his face, his aunt said, "Hey, there's plenty of fish in the sea! What about Michelle? You care about her don't you?"

"Yeah I guess could say tha- wait, what makes you say that?" questioned Peter, puzzled again.

Aunt May just slightly tilted her head at him. "You mentioned her on your 'list of people I care about', did you not?"

Knowing full well that he didn't like her that way, Peter did have to admit that Michelle was quite interesting. Her care-free personality, sarcastic attitude and odd behaviour made her different than most other girls. There was also some kind of mysteriousness about her too, though, she probably thinks the same about him. Peter wasn't even sure if Michelle was even her real name…

Peter realized he had been quiet for a couple seconds too long. "Yeah, but we're just friends, I guess…" he trailed off.

"Okayyyy," sing songed Aunt May, before changing the subject again. "Now, please don't tell me you did your business while you were up on the ceiling like that."

Grinning sheepishly, Peter removed himself from the ceiling and exited the bathroom, walking back to his room.

"G'night, May." said Peter automatically.

"Goodnight, don't let the bedbugs bite," Aunt May said in an amused tone before Peter closed his bedroom door and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. With a final roll of his eyes at that last statement, he flopped down onto his bed, ready for his first good night's sleep in a while.

Despite how stressful the day was, it was a lot off of his chest and Peter couldn't feel more relieved.

 _Now for the most boring week of my life_ , Peter thought as he drifted off into a world of web slinging and crime fighting.

* * *

Hope you're enjoying so far! This actually happens to be my first fan fiction ever, so I would appreciate it if you guys could leave some feedback. I'm no expert on Spider-Man, so please forgive me for any mistakes I may make in this story. Now, this will be a multi-chapter story of about 10, so I'll try to update every couple days. Also, feel free to correct me on any spelling and grammar errors so I can fix them as soon as possible. Thanks!

Btw, I put Mary Jane as a character because she basically Michelle, as revealed at the end of Homecoming


	2. Suspicions

_What an odd feeling,_ thought Peter, sensing that his backpack was noticeably lighter than usual.

He still carried the same amount of textbooks as before, so missing books was not the cause. Today was his first day in a long time that he wasn't carrying his Spider-Man suit to school, no thanks to his aunt. His old suit was in need of repairs after his late-night flight with Toomes, leaving that out of the question. Peter was just gonna have to suck it up and refrain from being a hero for a week.

Stepping out of the subway train, Peter headed toward the front doors of the school, thinking of ways to keep himself busy for the day. Ned was suspended for the next three days, including today, making Peter friendless for the time being.

 _Well, I did refer to Michelle as MJ, which would make her my friend, I guess?_ he thought. Peter recalled what she had said when Mr. Harrington announced her as the new captain for the decathlon team.

" _My friends call me MJ"_

Thinking about it for a while, Peter found that he didn't actually hate the idea of hanging out with her; she did seem like a pretty cool person, though he couldn't really say he knew her too well. The few times they did have conversations were during their decathlon meetings and at random times they happened to bump into each other. Which, actually, seemed like all the time. She did seem to know a lot more about him than he knew of her, but Michelle did say she was a very observant person.

Peter just hoped she wasn't _too_ observant.

Arriving at his locker, Peter stuffed his sweater away before sensing someone behind him. Hoping it was Ned, he turned around only to find Mr. Harrington, head organizer of the decathlon team, giving him a pointed look. Hoping he wasn't in too much trouble, Peter breathed out, "Hey."

"Hey yourself, Peter," he responded with a hint of coldness to his voice. He then paused, and took in a deep breath before continuing, "See me in the decathlon meeting room after lunch tomorrow, alright?"

Before Peter could get a word in, Mr Harrington turned and walked away. Judging from his cold tone, Peter was probably in trouble for something, and it most likely had to do with his absence from the decathlon event in D.C.

"Hey loser, what might that have been about?"

Peter spun around only to find Michelle leaning against a locker a few feet away from him with a smug look on her face. Before thinking about what he was saying, Peter spoke.

"Probably something to do with me skipping the decathlon final." said Peter nonchalantly.

Michelle raised an amused eyebrow at him. "So… you did skip the nationals, huh?" she said cheekily as Peter's eyes went wide. "To do what? Jack off to your math homework?" she quipped sarcastically ( _or was it playfully?_ ).

Feeling relief wash over him, Peter chuckled, "No, nothing like that…" Wow, Peter really had a way with words didn't he? First he let slip his guilt last night to Aunt May, now he was just admitted to skipping the decathlon. "Uh, something, just er- came up." he finished, unconvincingly.

Smirking, Michelle retorted, "Ohhhh, so I _was_ right."

Getting flustered, Peter tried to come up with something. "I uh, had an allergic reaction," he said unconvincingly, _again_. _Damn, I really have to work on lying properly,_ thought Peter.

Michelle didn't seem to react before deadpanning, "Yeah, and I'm Spider-Man."

The color drained from Peter's face.

Seemingly not noticing the shocked look on Peter, Michelle continued sarcastically, "Sorry, I thought we were telling each other obvious lies." Peter just stayed still, not knowing how to respond before she said, "You aren't allergic to anything, genius."

Peter gave her a weird look before asking, "How do you know that?"

Michelle suddenly avert his gaze and her smirk disappeared. "I- I'm just very observant." she said quickly. After a couple of awkward seconds lacking any elaboration, she turned and walked down the hall. "See you in class, Peter," she unenthusiastically called back without looking in his direction.

 _Observant, huh?_ thought Peter as he turned and faced his locker. _Yeah, how_ did _she know that?_ He could've sworn he'd seen her blush a little was she told him that.

A very confused, relieved, and flustered Peter finished packing away his stuff in his locker before the bell rang, signalling him to join Michelle in biology.

* * *

The day seemed to pass by surprisingly quickly, probably due to the fact that Peter wasn't actually waiting all day to rush out and stop criminals for once. There were a few times Peter would text Ned telling him what schoolwork he was missing and how easy and boring classes were.

Throughout the day, Peter could not help but keep stealing skeptic glances at Michelle. It was almost like she knew his secret. Their earlier conversation kept replaying in his mind and he felt suspicious that she in fact, knew about Spider-Man. It also didn't help that he happens to be the worst liar in all of existence. Though, it was quite hard to tell if she had just been joking around about his disappearances or suggesting something, due to the fact that she hid her true emotions quite well.

When the final bell rang, indicating that school was over, Peter took his time packing his books away prior to unhurriedly standing up to leave. Before he made it to the classroom door, someone spoke up behind him.

"Well, this is a first," came the voice of Michelle.

Turning around to look at the now empty classroom, Peter spotted Michelle sitting in her usual seat in the back corner with a book in one hand, a sandwich in the other, and her feet resting on her desk. She had a neutral and slightly bored expression on her face as she looked at him. Peter did have to give her credit. Michelle's controlled expressions and emotions allowed her to keep secrets, unlike himself. Like, right now, he had no idea what she was thinking, or no idea if she knew about his red and blue suit. If she did in fact know, she showed no signs of it.

Realizing he had probably been staring for too long, Peter snapped out of his daze and asked, "What's a first?"

"You're not in a hurry today," said Michelle simply, as she took another bite out of her sandwich. Peter just stared, at loss for words. "It's weird," she added, between bites.

Peter had previously been so caught up in his thoughts about Michelle knowing his secret that he himself didn't even realize he was breaking his usual schedule. If Aunt May had not taken his Spider-Man suit, Peter would probably be swinging between buildings by now.

"You must hate this place almost as much as I do if you're always so desperate to leave," said Michelle, breaking Peter out of this thoughts.

Peter gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I don't hate this place, but it's not that I like it either..." he trailed off.

"Whatever loser," muttered Michelle as she finished her sandwich. After a short pause she continued, "Ya know, it doesn't take a genius to notice all of your disappearances and excuses lately."

Peter just stayed silent.

"I sure noticed it during our decathlon nationals, I bet Ned really noticed it when you left him at that party, and I know for a fact that Liz sure noticed it during homecoming," said Michelle, looking slightly annoyed.

"That's cold," replied Peter, now feeling ashamed. But, she was right. Peter hadn't exactly been discreet with his disappearances. It's not he like he had any choice did he? If he had to choose between winning some stupid trophy or saving innocent lives, Peter would definitely pick the latter. Now somewhat irritated, he asked, "Why do you care anyway? Why do you even bother to ' _observe_ ' these things?"

Michelle stayed unmoving for a moment before she took her feet off of her desk and started to put her book away. Peter thought he must have hit a nerve. After zipping up her backpack and throwing it over her shoulder, Michelle finally replied, "You tend to notice these kinds of things when you don't have any friends."

Watching her walk away, Peter was left in disbelief and felt a bit, _hurt?_ They did seem to talk a lot more than he previously thought and found himself wanting to get to know her better. With her mystifying personality, Peter could help but think there was more to her under the surface. Seeing how lost she looked when she had said that, Peter knew she felt lonely.

Peter came to his senses and rushed to catch up to her in the hallway. He stopped her by gently laying a hand on her shoulder and faced her, asking her with all sincerity, "Am I not your friend?"

Michelle's deadpan expression softened slightly, before faintly smirking and replying, "I don't know, are you?"

Peter merely smiled back, as they fell into comfortable silence. After a few moments, Peter frowned to himself and said, "Sorry about what I said earlier, I was just... a little irritated."

Michelle just rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't apologize," she quipped, "it makes you seem like a decent human being."

Deciding to play along, Peter retorted, "Who ever said I was a human being?" before snapping his mouth closed. _Excellent choice of words, Parker,_ he thought to himself.

Not noticing his slip-up (or ignoring it), Michelle let out a short giggle and started walking towards the school exit, Peter's hand slipping off her shoulder. "See ya tomorrow, loser," she called back good-naturedly, not bothering to look his direction again.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, MJ," he shouted back as she left the building.

Knowing that the subway station was on the opposite side of the school, Peter sighed and made his way across the building.

After an uneventful ride back to the apartment, Peter found himself exiting the elevator of the fourth floor only to turn the corner and spot Ned waiting outside his apartment door.

Ned didn't seem to notice him yet, so Peter grinned mischievously and thought he might have a little fun. Making sure there was nobody else around, he climbed up onto the ceiling and crawled just above Ned, who was still oblivious. With a leap, Peter swiftly and silently dropped down feet-first directly in front of Ned, and said, "Boo."

Ned's bored expression immediately changed to a state of shock as he jumped back and let out a very unmanly scream.

"That wasn't funny, Peter!" Ned squealed as Peter laughed on the floor. "You almost gave me my third heart attack this year!" he shouted, as he too, joined in on the laughter.

After they both settled themselves, Peter unlocked the apartment door and invited Ned inside.

"So, whatcha doing here Ned?" asked Peter as they sat down in his room.

"Oh," laughed Ned nervously, "I thought I'd just stop by 'cuz I haven't seen you all day."

 _Figures,_ thought Peter, feeling like there was more to it than that. "Okay, why are you _really_ here?"

Ned sighed and asked, "Where'd you go yesterday during school? You kind of just left the decathlon meeting."

Peter perked up at this and excitedly said, "Actually, I've been meaning to tell you about that."

He paused and took a deep breath before saying, "Mr. Stark asked me to be an Avenger."

Ned audibly gasped and asked, "You're an Avenger now?" Ned jumped up and shouted, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE! I'M BEST FRIENDS WITH AN AVEN-"

"Ned! Keep it down," Peter whispered frantically. He didn't know if he had the heart to break the bad news. Peter gave Ned an "I'm sorry" kind of look before he reluctantly said, "I'm not an Avenger, I- I said no."

Ned just gave him a blank stare. "Wha- why?"

Peter just shrugged his shoulders. "I figured I wasn't ready to take such a big step," he said, "I'd rather just stop robbers and thugs than drop cities out of the sky."

"But-" sputtered Ned, "It's the Avengers! How could you say no?"

Peter just sighed and stood up from his bed. "Joining the Avengers meant giving up my secret identity, something that's a big part of being Spider-Man," he voiced. Having at least three people aware of his identity was stressful enough, Peter figured he couldn't handle the whole world knowing. At least, not yet.

Walking out of his room and to the kitchen, Peter heard Ned mumble behind him, "I can't believe this…"

Smiling to himself, Peter jumped onto the ceiling and started looking through the top cupboards for snacks. _This is so much easier,_ he thought, glad he didn't need to use a stool anymore. He was, after all, only five foot six.

Suddenly sensing movement behind him, Peter turned and saw Ned attempting to sneak up on him, most likely trying to scare him.

"Nice try, Ned," said Peter in amusement. "You're not getting me back for earlier, I sensed you coming."

Ned drooped his shoulders in disappointment before getting a curious look. "You… you can _sense_ me?"

Peter soaked in his words and realized that he did in fact ' _sense'_ him. Recalling the day's events, Peter became aware that the same thing happened with Mr. Harrington earlier that day. Peter gave Ned a sheepish smile. "New powers? Hehe…" he laughed nervously.

"That is awesome!" exclaimed Ned. "Maybe that spider venom gives you more powers over time!"

Peter thought about that for a second. "Maybe," said Peter enthusiastically, trying not to sound _too_ excited.

Before Ned could get another word in, the apartment door started shaking slightly, as if someone were putting keys in it. _Aunt May is home,_ thought Peter as he continued looking for something to eat, his other three limbs still stuck to the ceiling. May already knew about his powers, so there was no use in getting down.

However, Ned tensed up and abruptly moved across the kitchen faster than Peter had ever seen him move. He reached his hand toward Peter and gave a surprisingly strong tug on his free arm.

At that very moment, Aunt May walked into the apartment only to witness Ned pulling Peter to the floor along with half of the kitchen's ceiling.

"What the hell, Ned?!" shouted Peter as he picked himself off the floor.

"Sorry!" replied Ned in a hushed tone so Peter's aunt couldn't hear. "I didn't know that would happen! I was just trying to protect your secret identity like you said!"

Peter instantly realized that he hadn't told Ned about Aunt May and hurriedly said, "She already knows! You didn't need to destroy the kitchen trying to-"

"Boys!" came the voice of Aunt May across the kitchen counter.

Both Peter and Ned snapped their heads toward her.

"What the hell is going on?" she questioned. "Do you realize how much it's going to cost to fix this?" she asked, gesturing at the wreckage.

Ned spoke up and said, "Sorry Mrs. Parker, I didn't realize-"

"Actually," interrupted Peter, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have been on the ceiling in the first place. I'll- I'll get the money."

Aunt May merely raised a skeptical eyebrow at him and said, "Well, you'd better find yourself a job, unless you plan on stealing-"

Peter intervened, "May, you know I wouldn't do that."

"Alright," she huffed. "Now, you two clean up this mess before I ground you for another week, Peter," she said as she left the room, presumably to calm herself.

Shortly after a grueling thirty minutes of picking up chunks of the ceiling, Peter and Ned found themselves back in Peter's room.

"How did she find out?" questioned Ned. Peter opened his mouth to answer, but Ned kept going. "And why isn't she freaking out about it? Who else knows? Are you sure that's even your aunt-"

"Woah, woah," said Peter, putting a stop to Ned's interrogation. "One question at a time, Ned."

Ned closed his mouth and looked at Peter expectantly.

Peter sighed, and answered, "She found out yesterday when I got back from the Avengers compound. Mr. Stark delivered my suit back to me, so of course I _had_ to put it on when I saw it." Taking in a breath, Peter continued, "The thing is, I didn't notice May standing in my doorway."

Ned gasped before putting on a puzzled expression. He opened his mouth and asked "But shouldn't you have noticed her? You have your 'spider sense' right?"

Peter thought about it for a second. _That doesn't make sense,_ he thought before calling back to their conversation earlier. Peter said, "Well, maybe I'm still learning the full extent of my powers?" _That sounds reasonable, right?_

Ned just nodded his head in understanding before asking, "So, does anyone else know about your identity?"

"Just Toomes," replied Peter honestly before frowning. _Should I tell him about MJ?_ Deciding to voice his concern, he continued, "Though, I think MJ might suspect something."

Ned just blinked. "MJ?"

Rolling his eyes, Peter replied, "You know, Michelle? We talked a couple times today and it seems like she knows something. Or, thinks she knows something." Peter let out a breath. "I dunno."

"Well, she does say she's very observant."

"Yeah, I get that."

"Well," began Ned, as he scrunched up his face in thought, "maybe, try not to talk to her too much. That might help."

Staying silent, Peter had to mentally agree with Ned. Michelle did appear to notice a bit too much about him. Anyway, he would probably let it slip that he was Spider-Man. The thing is, Peter actually enjoyed talking to Michelle. With her snarky behaviour and sarcastic remarks, she contrasted greatly from other girls, which Peter admired. But, he didn't want to risk his identity again.

"Okay, I'll try," replied Peter, even though he was still split in the idea. It's not like he had to stop talking to her though, he just had to limit the times they did.

A few hours later, after a few discussions about the newest LEGO sets and the upcoming Star Wars movies, Ned headed home. Ned was still suspended for the next two days, and Peter couldn't just talk to MJ all the time, leaving him dreading the next couple days. Plus, he still had another six days without Spider-Man

After a quick, goodnight hug from Aunt May, Peter decided to settle down for the night. Stepping under the destroyed ceiling, Peter grabbed a glass of water from the kitchen and headed to his room. He climbed into bed as he realized he needed money to fix the kitchen. One thought then came across his mind.

 _Time to find a job._

* * *

What do you guys think of the chapter lengths? Too long? Too short? Please let me know in the reviews


	3. Photos

"Excuse me, are you finished with that?" asker Peter, gesturing towards the folded newspaper in the man's hand.

Wordlessly, the man tossed the newspaper to Peter. Opening up the folded material, he began to search for the job adverts, hoping to find something that interested him. _McDonald's… nope. Grocery store? Nah. Laundromat maintenance… definitely not._

Peter was drawn away from his search when a white-haired, elderly man taking the seat next to him on the subway train. He had a moustache with a slicked back hairdo and a pair of shades covering his eyes. Something looked oddly familiar about him…

Now distracted from his task, Peter put the newspaper aside, making a mental note to look for a job later.

"Could I borrow that?" came the polite voice of the elderly man who had just sat next to him.

Handing the newspaper to him, the man chuckled, "I'd like to see if there's anything on Spider-Man today, if you don't mind."

Peter smirked to himself, beaming at the fact that people loved Spider-Man. It was a weird, yet very rewarding feeling knowing that he was popular, yet, still wasn't.

Feeling the train come to a stop, Peter stood up and heaved his backpack over his shoulder, ready for whatever school would throw at him today.

"Here's your paper, mister," said the old man, handing it back to Peter as he was about to step off the train.

"Thanks," said Peter, seeing a bit of resemblance in the man. _He kind of looks like… nevermind._

After stepping off the train and heading towards the school's front doors, Peter noticed Michelle walking towards the school. _I wonder where she lives if she walks to school all the time,_ thought Peter as he stared at her. _Wait, that's a little creepy._

Peter felt the urge to go talk to her just because he felt like it, but stopped himself. Remembering what Ned said yesterday about talking to her, Peter gave a sad sigh and entered the school.

* * *

Today, Ned didn't seem to be answering his texts, which virtually left Peter with nothing to do, since he had already done the homework last week. The only thing remotely interesting happening today was his meeting his Mr. Harrington after lunch.

Turning his head, he looked over at Michelle, who was sitting in her usual seat again.

Having nothing better to do, Peter began to study her. As usual, her messy hair covered half of her face and she had a book in front of her. Today she wore a grey, zipperless hoodie and a pair of black, worn out jeans. Nothing too extravagant, but Peter didn't mind. _The look suits her,_ thought Peter as his gaze shifted towards her face.

By no means was Michelle ugly. In fact Peter thought she was one of the better looking girls in the school, if not, the best. She had a very natural yet attractive look and obviously didn't go out of way to be as flashy as possible. _Not that she needs to,_ thought Peter, still gazing at her. This information wasn't anything new; Peter had noticed it long ago, yet no one else seemed to acknowledge it. As far as he knew, she was still as lonely as ever, despite her good looks, above average intelligence and sarcastic yet playful personality. Not to mention how beautifully brown her eyes were…

"Is there something on my face?"

Peter snapped out of his thoughts only to realize that he was staring directly into her eyes. Trying not to overreact to being caught red-handed, Peter gave an uncomfortable smile and ungracefully said, "Uh, I was just, uh, wondering what book you're reading…" as he attempted to suppress his blush.

Michelle raised and eyebrow and slowly said, "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Peter blinked in response. "I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff," he said carefully. In fact, Peter was sure that he hasn't heard of a single book she's read.

"I'm not," she responds as she turns back to her book. "But, I'd thought I'd give it a read after your presentation the other day."

Furrowing his brow in confusion, Peter wondered what she exactly she was talking about. He couldn't recall doing a presentation on anything in the past couple of weeks. The last one he did was a movie review on the Lord of the Rings trilogy…

 _Wait, she actually listened to that?_ Peter could remember how uninterested his classmates were when he had done his twenty minute presentation on his love of Middle Earth. But, as it seemed, someone other than Ned had actually bothered to pay attention to him.

"Oh," was all Peter could say, realizing that that project was well over a month ago. Anyway, the book had caught him off guard since Peter's presentation was about the movies, not the books. _Figures,_ he thought, knowing that Michelle _loved_ books. He was quite sure he's never seen her without one.

Realizing that he had _still_ been staring at her, Peter tore his eyes away and tried to occupy himself by attempting to text Ned.

A couple of boring periods later, Peter found himself sitting alone at lunch, picking at his fries. He shoved a couple of them in his mouth before he unzipped his bag and retrieved the newspaper he had been reading that morning. Sighing, Peter resumed his search for a job.

Not two minutes later, Peter found himself looking at the comics section when Michelle sat down across from him and pulled out a book.

"Hey loser, what's got you so interested?" she asked as she stole a fry.

"Oh," replied Peter, folding the newspaper and pushing it aside. "Nothing."

They sat in an awkward silence. Peter desperately wanted to talk, but he knew he probably shouldn't. Ned was right, he couldn't risk his secret identity again. He decided it was best to sit in silence.

...

"So…" Peter started, mentally kicking himself, "what's it like being the new decathlon captain?"

Without missing a beat or bothering to look up from her book, Michelle replied, "What? You'd rather have Liz?"

 _I knew I should've kept my mouth shut,_ thought Peter as he tried to give a response. "No," he said frantically, "you're a good captain and all, but that's not what I meant- I just wanted to-," Peter sighed in frustration and gave up. "I'm just trying to start a conversation," he admitted, "This silence is killing me."

Michelle put down her book and looked up. "Well, if you're really wondering, being team captain is great," she said, without a hint of enthusiasm. Peter just smiled in response before she stole another fry and continued, "But, the team can't afford to have you go missing every other day."

Peter went wide-eyed, knowing that their conversation was already heading into dangerous waters. Before he could give his usual excuse about the "Stark internship", Peter realized he couldn't do that. His supposed "internship" hasn't existed since the day his suit was taken away.

"Well," he started, attempting to come up with some other excuse, "I've been into, uh, photography lately." It wasn't exactly I lie, except for the fact that he hasn't picked up a camera since he was bitten by a radioactive spider.

Michelle raised an eyebrow. "So you'd rather run off and take pictures than be at decathlon practices."

Peter wasn't sure how to respond, uncertain if it were a question or a statement.

"What could you possibly be photographing if you're so willing to miss academic decathlon for it?"

"Uhhh," was all that could come out of Peter's mouth, before a thought came to his head. _Don't fucking say it, Peter,_ he thought, knowing this is exactly what he was trying to avoid. He opened his mouth anyway and continued slowly, "I've been… uh, taking pictures of… Spider-Man?" sounding unsure and making a mental note to punch himself in the face afterwards.

"Oh, I see," said Michelle sarcastically, "Your friend in spandex is a lot more important."

Peter suddenly learned how to breathe again. It seemed like Michelle was completely unaware of his extracurricular activities. He hoped.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Michelle said, "You're stressed about something. I can tell." Of course, this did nothing to ease Peter. "Want me to pull out my sketchbook and show you?" she continued, a smirk playing on her lips.

"No, thanks," chuckled Peter nervously. _She can tell I'm freaking out right now,_ thought Peter, trying to come up with an explanation for the thousandth time. "I'm just," he began, "stressed about getting a job." That was one of the first things he said today that wasn't a lie.

"Hmm," was the only acknowledgement he got as Michelle pulled Peter's plate of fries toward her. After a bit of a pause, she continued, "I assume that's why you got the Daily Bugle in front of you?"

"Yeah…"

Michelle pursed her lips in thought before she said, "You're Spider-Man's photographer, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. Although I wouldn't say-"

"Shut up, I'm trying to help you," interrupts Michelle quickly.

Peter stared at her, dumbstruck. He certain didn't expect _Michelle_ of all people to help.

"You could sell your pictures to the Daily Bugle," Michelle suggested as she gestured towards the newspaper, "if they're any better than the shitty ones they put on their front page,"

Taking the paper into his hands, Peter couldn't help but notice how blurry the image of himself, er, Spider-Man was. In fact, the photo looked like it were taken by an onlooker watching him swing by, before deciding to lower the quality drastically and send in the photo after attacking it with extra coarse sandpaper.

Peter thought about Michelle's idea for a minute before smiling and saying, "That's actually not a bad idea."

"What do you expect?" asked Michelle coolly as she stuffed a fry in her mouth and returned her gaze to her book. "I came up with it."

Chuckling to himself, Peter reclaimed his fries as he began brainstorming ideas for a good picture. Spider-Man and photography were two of his favorite things, and a job like this would be something he could enjoy. He would be able to repair his somewhat damaged kitchen thanks to the help of MJ.

"Thanks for the help, MJ," said Peter with a smile on his face. "It means a lot."

"Yeah, whatever," she replied, keeping her attention to Middle Earth, which was pretty much her own way of saying, "You're welcome."

Peter groaned when the bell signalling lunch was over, aware that Mr. Harrington was waiting for him in the decathlon room. Packing his bag, Peter stood up and headed towards one of the cafeteria's exits.

"Hey loser," came the voice of Michelle from behind him. Peter turned towards her as she continued, "class is this way," as she pointed her thumb behind her. "Don't _disappear_ again."

Deciding it was best not to lie about his whereabouts, Peter said, "I've gotta talk to Mr. Harrington right now."

MIchelle said nothing as she raised an eyebrow. Staring at her pointed look, Peter huffed and turned back around before heading towards the meeting room.

* * *

He did expect some kind of punishment, but this? This caught Peter completely by surprise.

"Suspension? For how long?"

"That's still to be determined, but for now, you're off the team."

Peter wanted to ask why he suspended from the team, but he already knew. He constantly missed academic decathlon meetings and practices, and missing the nationals had been the last straw. His poor time management and _extracurricular activitie_ s had almost resulted in his team losing the final.

Looking at the ground, Peter mumbled, "I understand, sir."

His team coach put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Look, Peter, you're one the smartest kids in Midtown High, but you're just not dependable. We can't afford that on our team." He took a deep breath and finished, "I'm sorry, Peter, but it's for the best."

Before Peter even had the chance to get another thought in, a voice came from the doorway behind them.

"No it's not."

Both of them turned and Mr. Harrington exclaimed, "Michelle! Shouldn't you be in class?" as his shoulder slipped off Peter's shoulder.

Ignoring him, Michelle continued, "Kicking Peter off the team isn't going to help at all. He's like, the smartest guy in the school."

Peter just stared at her, flattered. She was defending him, plus, that was like the first compliment she's ever given him. Mr. Harrington had said almost the same thing to him a minute ago, but hearing it come out of MIchelle's mouth was different.

Mr. Harrington interrupted his thoughts with, "Michelle, you have to understand that Peter hasn't-"

"I feel like the team's captain should have a say in who stays on the team and who doesn't," interjected Michelle with determination in her eyes.

"Yes, but-"

"Despite his constant absences, Peter brings a lot to the team," said Michelle. "Everyone looks up to him, he helps out with studying and when he actually shows up, he works harder than anyone."

Wide-eyed, Peter continued to stare at Michelle in shock.

After a moment of silence, the head of their decathlon team gave a loud sigh and said, "Fine, but make sure to manage your time better, Peter."

Peter received a pat on the back and sheepishly headed out of the room with Michelle. They silently agreed to walk to class together.

After a short silence, Peter uttered a "thank you" for second time that day.

"Whatever."

Stepping into class late, Peter sat next to Michelle in the empty seats at the back. As Peter started to pull out his work, his thought lingered on MJ. She had _willingly_ helped him today, and he didn't even need to ask. They were simple gestures, though it meant the world to him. The fact that Michelle seemed to care enough to support him felt surprisingly good, and she didn't seem to want anything in return. It was just one more thing about her to admire…

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to go by much quicker. Michelle's help really did brighten Peter's mood. Thanks to her, he now had a solid idea for a job, and he was still on the academic decathlon team.

When his aunt left the apartment for her night shift at the hospital, Peter was left with nothing to do. Ned was unavailable and Peter couldn't just leave. He was still grounded.

After watching a few episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Netflix and checking out a few videos of him swinging around the city, Peter was yearning for something to do. He got up from the couch and walked around the apartment (on the ceiling) before something caught his eye in Aunt May's room. He went around the hole giant hole in the ceiling to get a better look.

An idea came to his mind, and Peter knew his aunt would never find out. But, he knew should be sneaking around behind his aunt's back again, especially since he was still ground for the remainder of the week.

He knew it was a bad idea.

So Peter grabbed his camera, snuck his suit out of his aunt's room and left the apartment.

* * *

Sorry for the wait! This chapter is a little bit shorter, but, whatever. Please feel free to leave feedback, thanks!


	4. Questions

"Alright kid, let's see the merchandise."

Surprised at this gruff voice, Peter reached into his bag and pulled out an envelope, handing it to the man seated behind the desk. Putting on a pair of reading glasses, the man pulled a dozen photos out of the envelope.

With an amused scoff upon seeing the photos, the man exclaimed, "Spider-Man?! That menace?!"

Peter merely frowned as the man continued to examine the photos. Last night had been a bit stressful, considering he had been sneaking around behind his aunt's back, _again,_ just to pose in front of a camera. He thought he might at least get some credit, considering he actually managed to get some decent pictures.

After a short silence that seemed to drag on forever, Peter asked, "So, what do you think, uh," stealing a glance at the name on the desk, he continued "Mr. Jameson?"

Jerking up as though he forgot Peter was still there, Mr. Jameson replied rather loudly, "These are abysmal! I can't stand seeing that arachnid roaming these streets, crawling up walls, acting like he own the place!" Placing his cigar in his mouth, Mr. Jameson pulled out a drawer from his desk and started writing frantically as he continued, "That menace- if I had it my way…" as he trailed off.

Peter could only stand there in silence with his hands in his pockets as he repeatedly told himself, _I knew this was a bad idea, I knew this was a-_

"Tell you what, kid," said Mr. Jameson as he abruptly stood up from his chair and pulled Peter out of this thoughts. He handed a cheque to a wide-eyed Peter and said, "Bring these shots in every week. They're certainly better than the stuff those other bozos send in. Doesn't really help that Eddie's been missing-"

The phone on Mr. Jameson's desk rang, interrupting him. Picking it up at breakneck speed, Mr. Jameson shouted into the receiver, "What, are you trying to grey my hair even faster?! No, no, no, I- I don't care that Wilson broke his fish bowl…"

Drowning out Mr. Jameson's yelling, Peter felt esthetic. He was gonna get his first real job! Well, the "Stark internship" doesn't count, does it? He wasn't exactly getting paid for it, so…

"Joseph?"

Peter's eyes shot up. "Uh, it's er, Peter."

Mr. Jameson lifted up a hand and dramatically pointed to the door. "Exit's that way, Chris. See ya next week."

"It's Peter, and am I, like, hired?"

"No jobs. Freelance. Best thing in the world for a kid your age." He chucked his cigar out the window before saying, "Bring me some more shots of that newspaper-selling clown, and maybe I'll give you a couple more gold coins."

Peter just smiled as he shook Mr. Jameson's hand and uttered a "thanks".

"Alright, now off you go, Alex," he replied, sitting back down.

Before Peter could correct him again, Mr. Jameson was already in a yelling match with his phone. Peter turned and headed out of the office, now needing to get to school. It wasn't exactly a job, but that didn't matter.

The Daily Bugle was located right in downtown Manhattan, so Peter had a bit of a trek ahead of him back to Queens. He could have just brought his web shooters to get back, but he had run out of web fluid last night.

Aunt May never suspected a thing. Peter had made it home to get to sleep before she did, and she was still sleeping when he left the apartment. His suit was safely tucked away where he found it so his aunt would have no reason to believe he snuck out.

Peter sighed, knowing he was going to be a little late for school. Deciding not to be extra late, he skipped out on buying his lunch and headed straight for the subway station.

Okay, maybe Peter was more than a little late. After switching trains, getting on a bus, and getting back on a busy train again, Peter stumbled into his second period class. Seeing the only empty seat beside Michelle, he settled down next to her before his social studies teacher spoke up.

"Peter! Glad you could make it," said Mr. Hendrick, Flash snickering on the other side of the room. "You're a bit late, so find a partner, as we'll be starting a group assignment." He turned back to his computer, presumably to mark Peter as late in the attendance.

Leaning over, Peter asked Michelle, "What's this assignment about?"

Looking up from her book, The Two Towers, she answered, "I dunno, he hasn't given it to us yet." Peter nodded in response before she asked, "So, what held you up this morning? Another Star Wars marathon?"

Shaking his head, Peter chuckled, "No, I was actually at the Daily Bugle, delivering pictures."

"Couldn't that have waited till after school? I mean, it's all the way in the city."

Thinking about it for a second, Peter replied, "Yeah, I guess so, but, I'm just eager to get a job, you know?"

"Yeah, whatever loser," says Michelle before she pauses for a moment. "Anyway, do you, like, wanna- wanna work together?" she asks skeptically.

Caught off guard, Peter took a moment to say, "Y- yeah, yeah." Clearing his throat, he finished, "Sure."

"Cool."

"Awesome."

Not too long after, Mr. Hendrick came around and handed out the worksheets for the assignment. That sheet stated that they were required to pair up and write an opinion-based essay on the Sokovia Accords, due on Monday. Their teacher would assign them either Steve Rogers' side, or Tony Stark's side.

After reading the instructions, Michelle piped up, "Great. Either a war criminal or a guilty billionaire."

Peter just smiled at her sarcasm and asked, "Who do you think was right about the Accords?"

Rolling her eyes, Michelle answered, "I'd feel a lot safer knowing that the Avengers weren't restricted from saving the Earth, so I agree with Rogers."

"Yeah, he's actually a pretty nice guy."

 _Shit._

"You say that as if you've met Captain America before." stated Michelle as she raised an eyebrow.

Cringing, Peter slowly replied, "Yeah, through- um, the Stark internship, er- once."

"Wasn't that after he became a war criminal?"

"Yeah…" said Peter sheepishly, thinking about to when he stole Captain America's shield and fought with him two months ago.

Michelle seemed to stop and think for a moment before saying, "I never bothered to ask before, but, what did you even do for your 'Stark internship'?"

Looking like a deer in the headlights, Peter couldn't answer. He always talked about his so-called "internship", but never gave any details whatsoever. All anyone knew was that he had worked for Tony Stark and nothing else.

"I- um, I- I did some-"

By some miracle, Mr. Hendrick interrupted Peter's stuttered response by saying, "Peter! Michelle! You guys are partners, right?"

Michelle nodded and Peter just said "Yeah".

"Alright, you guys are assigned Tony Stark's side for your essay. Good luck!" he finished as he moved on to assign the next pairs.

Trying to keep the topic away from his "internship", Peter breathed, "So, wanna- wanna go work in the hallway?"

"Y- yeah, sure," said Michelle a little too quickly as she stood up with her school bag.

Giving a nervous laugh, Peter jumped up and followed her out of the classroom.

Once settled down on the floor and against the lockers, Peter pulled out his laptop to get started on their assignment.

"So…"

"So."

Not sure how to go from there, Peter tried to think of a way to get started on their project. It didn't really help that he was partnered with Michelle, because- well, he didn't really know. Peter knew that he was trying to avoid spilling his secret identity, but Michelle was usually easy to talk to. He found that he was suddenly getting nervous when he looked at her and tried to start a conversation.

Trying to convince himself that it just his skepticism on revealing his alter-ego, Peter managed, "So, um, why do you think Tony Stark was right about the Accords?"

"I don't, remember?" answered Michelle, making Peter go slightly red. She went on, "But, we have to write this paper anyway so… you apparently know him personally, so you tell me."

Peter honestly didn't know Mr. Stark's full motives for the Accords; only that he couldn't bear the fact that people die because of the Avengers. But, if it weren't for the them on that day eight years ago, a lot more people would have died at the hands of aliens _and_ the government (no thanks to their attempt at nuking the city).

Thinking about it, Peter found that he didn't agree with what Mr. Stark was trying to do.

"Y- you know, I don't really think Mr. Stark was right about the Accords."

Slumping back, Michelle sighed and said sarcastically, "Great. Fantastic. How are we going to write this essay now?"

Pursing his lips, Peter thought and said, "Well, we could work on it after school to give us more time, or the weekend. Wait, well- today's Friday, so after school technically is the weekend, so that works I guess…" He decided to stop his rambling before he ended up saying something even more idiotic.

Raising an eyebrow, Michelle slowly asked, "So, where are we going to meet up?"

Surprised that Michelle had agreed to work with him outside of school, Peter attempted to answer her question. He was just about to suggest the public library before remembering he couldn't. His aunt still had him under house arrest. "I can't leave the apartment, so, my place?"

"What, you scared of the big, bad city?" she mocked.

Peter flushed and mumbled, "I- I'm, grounded…"

Michelle just scoffed. "Okayyy, I- I've gotta return a book to the library, so I'll meet you at your place afterwards."

"Yeah, sou- sounds good."

They remained silent for a short while before Peter spoke up, trying to break the ice.

"So, what book are you returning?"

Michelle faced him and studied him before replying, "The Fellowship of the Ring."

"But, didn't you, like, start reading that yesterday?"

"Maybe."

"I take it you liked it," said Peter coolly.

"Sure."

Peter swelled with pride. That was pretty much her way of saying she loved it, because, well, what book doesn't she love? Anyway, he finally had someone to share his nerdiness with, other than Ned of course.

Before Peter could get even to get into a geeky discussion about Middle Earth, the bell rang, signalling the classes end. Peter and Michelle had different classes for third block, so they said an awkward "goodbye" and went their separate ways.

Peter didn't understand why he had gotten so flustered when talking to Michelle. Not wanting to think about it too much, he decided that it was because of his fear of revealing his identity. That was probably it, right?

The next few classes leading up to lunch were boring as usual, and Ned was still suspended for apparently masturbating in the chess club room. Well, that was just one of the many rumors going around the school about what he was doing during homecoming. Ned was earning a reputation and he wasn't even there to see it. Peter did have appreciate that Ned had taken one for the team.

Walking into the cafeteria, Peter realized that he didn't have a lunch. He couldn't exactly buy his own from the concession; they only accepted cash and he only had a cheque from this morning and his bank card.

Before he knew it, Peter was sitting by himself again. Looking around, Michelle seemed to be nowhere in sight. He had avoided talking to her after their awkward "conversation" in second block, so Peter felt a bit relieved at the fact that she wasn't here. Probably in the library, reading as usual.

No lunch, no homework, and no one to talk to. If only Ned hadn't been suspended. Peter started to felt a little jumpy after about five minutes of sitting there. Within those five minutes, he checked Instagram, looked at some videos of himself (as Spider-Man of course), checked Instagram again, then tried watching some Star Wars theories. He desperately wanted someone to talk to. If only Michelle was here… Wait, no, Ned.

"You look hungry."

Peter looked up to find Michelle standing across from him, with a book in her hand of course. His loneliness disappeared instantly.

Giving a weak smile, Peter responded, "Yeah, I, uh, forgot to buy a lunch this morning. And the concession doesn't take debit or cheques so..." he trailed off.

Wordlessly, Michelle reached into her pocket and pulled out a twenty dollar bill, stretching her hand towards him.

Peter's eyes darted back and forth between Michelle and money in her hand. "F- for me?"

Michelle rolled her eyes and quipped back, "No, for the freshman behind you."

Being the idiot he is, Peter turned to look at whoever she was talking about, only come face-to-face with the wall at the back of the room.

"Hey loser, you hungry or not? My arm's getting sore here."

Peter spun back around and looked at the bill dangling in front of him. The food at the concession was disgusting, but Peter was too hungry to care. Anyway, it's not everyday that Michelle just offers lunch money.

Muttering an awkward and barely audible "thanks", Peter took the twenty and headed over to the concession.

As he paid for the "food", Peter debated whether or not he should sit with Michelle again. He felt, well, intimidated by her somehow. He just didn't know why. Michelle had actually willingly helped him out lately, so there should be no reason to feel that way. Peter just felt nervous when he talked to her, or looked her in the eye, or just being around her in general. But, he found that he wanted to be around her. She was fun to talk to, incredibly smart, and not to mention, extraordinarily beautiful.

 _Wait, where did that come from?_

Peter spotted his backpack still at the table, so he had no choice but to sit with Michelle again. No that he minded.

Sitting down with his new acquired lunch, Peter ate in silence as Michelle busied herself with her reading. Before Peter could break the ice, Michelle beat him to it.

"So, how was your trip to the Daily Bugle?" she asked as she stuffed a bookmark in the paperback and closed it.

"It- it was fine. My new boss, Mr. Jameson is quite the character though," chuckled Peter.

"Oh, so you did get the job."

"Well," began Peter, tilting his head, "not really. I'm freelancing."

Michelle just nodded in response.

"You should probably see my pictures on the front page tomorrow."

"Hmm," hummed Michelle, "Doesn't it bother you though? The Daily Bugle doesn't seem too fond of Spider-Man."

Peter stiffened.

"I mean, like, you're friends with him and all." She frowned at him slightly and asked, "Are you?"

Peter just nodded and exasperatedly breathed out, "Yeah..."

Michelle straightened herself and crossed her arms on the table. "So, what it like? Being friends with a superhero, that is."

 _You should ask yourself that,_ was at the tip of his tongue, before Peter stopped himself answered, "It's- it's pretty cool."

Michelle looked like she was about to start throwing more questions about Spider-Man, but was interrupted by the bell.

Standing up a little too fast, Peter said, "See ya in class, uh, MJ," and rushed off.

* * *

After grabbing a hall pass during class, Peter made sure the coast was clear before lifting up the row of lockers and pulling out bottle of web fluid for refilling his canisters later. Dropping the lockers, Peter hastily stuffed the material in his bag in hopes of no one catching him carrying a bottle of sticky, white liquid.

Peter spent the rest of the day trying to avoid Michelle. I wasn't exactly sure why. Maybe it was because of Ned's suggestion, or because she seemed to be acting nicer lately, or because they were meeting after school today, or because of the fact that he turned into a rambling idiot whenever he looked her in the eye. He didn't know.

Despite his attempts at evading Michelle, she stopped him on his way out after school.

"Hey loser, we haven't made plans for this weekend."

Realizing that he indeed forgot to make plans, Peter replied, "Well, what time works for you?"

Michelle shrugged. "Anytime today, after I return a few books to the library."

"A few?" Peter asked, impressed. "How many books do you read in a day?"

"Depends whether or not you interrupt me throughout the day."

Blushing, Peter stammered out, "S- sorry, I don't mean to-"

"Relax, you dweeb. I'm joking."

Peter stopped talking and noticed the playful look in her eye with a hint of one of her rare smiles playing on her lips. Before he could make it awkward, Peter broke eye contact and said, "Well, see you at my place later," he turned towards the subway station.

"Hey loser, I don't know where you live."

"Oh. Sorry."

After clumsily pulling out his phone, Peter traded numbers with her so he could send his address. He sent her the location and made his way onto the train with a stupid smile on his face.

Michelle was coming over and he felt both excited and scared. They've never hung out before, so he didn't know what to expect. Peter was a nervous wreck, and it confused him. Being around Michelle was the easiest thing in the world, yet he's been a bit tense around her lately. There's no reason to be, unless…

 _Oh fuck. I have a crush on MJ._

Before Peter could dwell in his thoughts any longer, the train came to a stop at his get-off point. He exited and made his way towards his apartment.

 _That can't be right. I like Liz, right?_ thought Peter, as he entered the complex. He groaned, knowing that he'd have to take the stairs, as the elevators were under maintainance. Since his realization, Peter felt even more exhausted now, and taking the stairs wouldn't help one bit.

By the time he made it up the stairs to the seventh floor, Peter had broke into a sweat. Probably a combination of fatigue and nervousness. Michelle would be coming over shortly, and his anxiety levels were steadily rising.

Now at the door to his apartment, Peter fumbled around in his pockets trying to find his keys. He tensed up upon realizing that his keys were indeed _not_ in his pocket. Giving a heavy sigh, Peter slowly raised a hand and knocked on the door.

 _This day couldn't get any worse._

The lock made a small click before the door swung open to reveal Aunt May holding an empty web fluid canister.

"Wanna tell me what this is all about?"


	5. Conversations

_It just got worse._

Too shocked to utter a response, Peter stared at his aunt as if he were a deer caught in the headlights.

"Well?" she asked, giving Peter a pointed look and raising her eyebrows, all while holding a bare web fluid canister between two fingers. "Why is this empty?"

Peter almost bit a hole through his tongue to stop his three-word natural response a situation like this. He was not used to conjuring a response other than _I don't know_.

In his current predicament, lying would be a lost cause, only causing more harm to the both of them. Meanwhile, telling the truth would only hurt his aunt more. The future of their relationship could depend on whatever he said next. He would either be seen as a lying, dishonest prick, or a rule breaker that doesn't trust his aunt's judgement; it was a lose-lose situation.

His aunt shuffled around impatiently, making Peter realize he had to make a split second decision. The truth did not sound too appealing at this point, but being the lesser of two evils, he quickly made up his mind.

Peter averted his aunt's scrutinizing gaze, his eyes suddenly finding refuge on the hallway floor and his head dipping down in shame. Reluctantly, he answered in a near whisper, "I– I went out. Last night."

"No shit."

Mentally, Peter gave a sigh of relief. He'd seen and dealt with many different versions of his aunt throughout the years, and has learned to recognize each and every one of them. At the moment, he was dealing with an annoyed and frustrated May, as indicated by her quick and angry response, which came of a relief because he knew he could handle that as he'd done quite a few times before. What he couldn't deal with was a miserable and crestfallen May; he'd seen enough of that in the past little while.

Choosing not to respond to his aunt's last comment immediately, Peter reached a hand out and pushed the apartment door open a little more, sidestepping his aunt and quietly entering the premises. He found silence to be one of the best ways to cope with his aunt when she was frustrated with him. It was best just to let her anger run its course before he tried to intervene.

Peter kicked off his shoes and made his way to the kitchen. Halfway through emptying the contents of his school bag onto the table, May broke the silence.

"This was full yesterday," she said rather aggressively, tossing the small capsule void of web fluid onto the table between them, Peter grabbing it before it fell to the floor.

Peter just continued to unload his schoolwork, careful keep his bottle of extra web fluid hidden.

"So then we're not gonna talk about it, huh?" his aunt asked, with a slight edge to her voice.

Looking up from his current task, Peter found his aunt leaning on a chair expectantly. She usually never pointed out his little silent treatment during these situations. "I never said–"

"This is what worries me," May interjected. "Not the fighting, the swinging around the city, but the fact that you don't seem to trust me," May finished, her voice still irritated.

Peter pursed his lips, soaking in every word she said.

May continued. "There are things you have every right to keep to yourself. I'm not gonna try to pry into every detail of your life." Pausing, she took a breath and steadied herself, calming herself marginally. "But, there are some things you _don't_ hide."

Peter knew full well what his aunt was referring to and understood where she was coming from, but he disagreed. He didn't keep his _secret_ because he didn't trust her, but for something else entirely. Before Peter could put his own thoughts into words, May spoke again in much softer voice:

"It's a little concerning to know that you can't rely on me. You're all I've got, Peter."

That was it. A dagger through the heart.

"You're the only one I have too, May," said Peter, his voice soft. "And I trust you– well, now that I think about it, you're the only person I can truly trust. You did raise me, after all," he chuckled in spite of himself. "But Spider-Man wasn't something I was about to just drop on you. You already had enough to worry about," he added, fidgeting faintly at the increasingly uncomfortable situation. "I had no way of knowing how you would react to all of it, or if you would approve or not. But, ever since _that night_ , Spider-Man stopped being a hobby or a gimmick. It became something I couldn't give up no matter what: a _responsibility_."

His aunt merely nodded in understanding.

"I can't just give it up, even if it's just for a week," said Peter, explaining himself. It really did kill him to know that he had to stay away from the suit when there were people out there that needed his help. "And, um, I'm sorry I snuck out last night," he added in a smaller voice.

"It's alright Peter," said May after a short silence, the glum look on her face slowly fading away. Peter breathed out a sigh of relief. She continued, "I understand how much Spider Man means to you, but you still have to hold yourself accountable. No more secrets between us."

Peter nodded.

May gave a heavy sigh as if she were deciding on something. "You're still grounded for four more days though. You owe me that much," she breathed out.

He shouldn't have expected anything more, but his heart still sank. Peter was itching to get out there and help his city. Last night didn't count, that was only for pictures; it didn't fully satisfy his needs, kind of like taking one sip of coffee and throwing out the rest. Now he was determined to convince his aunt to let him free, as four more days was still too much for him.

Taking in a breath, Peter started, "May, I know I'm not supposed to–"

"Nope. You still owe me four more days," she interrupted.

Peter wasn't giving up that easily. "Come on, that's not fair–"

"Not fair? _Not fair?_ " asked May, becoming irritated again.

Just when things seemed to be right, it all went south. Almost like everything else in Peter's life.

"You kept the world's biggest secret from me for almost eight whole months," she almost shouted, volume increasing in each consecutive word. "Now that I know what you've been up to all this time, I fear for you, Peter. You could've been hurt, or– or _killed_ and I wouldn't have even known. The least you can do is take it easy for a few days. I think that's pretty fair!"

He knew he probably shouldn't argue, but Peter stilled talked back. "There is a whole city out there that needs my help! Maybe I have the leisure of taking breaks, but the people out there don't."

"Just because you suddenly have these– these _abilities,_ it doesn't mean you have to play the hero all the time!"

"Well just what do you suppose I do with my powers? Would you rather have me use them for good or just for my own gain? Or," Peter continued, unable to stop his next words from coming out of his mouth, "how about I just sit around and do nothing, waiting for someone else to die?"

Peter knew he struck a nerve when his aunt let out a gasp and abruptly turned her head away as if the sight of him physically hurt her.

Trying to backtrack, Peter started, "I didn't mean that, May I–"

"I need some air," May quickly interrupted, her voice coming out as an angry sob as she hastily grabbed her purse and headed towards the door.

Panicking, Peter tried to call out to her but his aunt was already out the door. He almost followed her before using his better judgement and deciding against it. After an argument like that, she probably needs her space.

Anyway, Michelle still had yet to arrive.

Peter contemplated whether or not to cancel their plans for today, though it was probably best to work on their project sooner rather than later. Besides, he can't just flake out again. Although, Peter wasn't feeling like having any sort of social interaction at the moment. His aunt did just storm out.

Feeling overwhelmed, guilty, and nervous amongst other things, Peter decided it was best to meet with Michelle another time. He wouldn't be out and stopping crime any time soon, so any other time during the weekend would work. In addition, his rattled nerves weren't feeling up to talking to anyone right now, least of all his crush.

God, he still had to get used to that idea. A _crush_ on _Michelle_. They were barely even friends at this point.

Peter took a seat at the table and was _this_ close to hitting the send button on a text message to Michelle about cancelling their plans today when a message from her came first.

' _Hey loser I'm almost there'_

Oh.

Well, shit.

Realizing he'd been staring at his phone for a few moments too long, Peter clumsily typed out an incomprehensible reply—somewhere along the lines of _'okay sounds good'_ —back to Michelle. There was no way he'd be able to cancel on her now; she would probably never forgive him, considering he already has a bad track record.

With his overwhelmed mind, Peter's thoughts raced around and starting he soon contemplating his very existence. He had only just realized his– well, _feelings_ ( _wow that was hard to even_ think) for her on the ride home and then argued with his aunt, so Peter had barely had any time to even ponder the idea.

The next five minutes passed by in a blur, with Peter being lost in his thoughts for the time being. Michelle didn't exactly say how far away she was, so at any moment she would be arriving at the entrance to the complex where he would have to buzz her up and–

"Nice place you got here."

Peter could've sworn his neck made a sickening crunch sound when his head snapped towards the entrance to the apartment. Standing in the open doorway was the woman of the hour, Michelle.

"Wha– how?"

Placing a smug hand on her hip, Michelle dangled a set of keys in her remaining hand.

"Where– how?"

"You left them at school, loser," she stated, closing the door behind her.

"When– how?"

"Oh my lord," she voiced, rolling her eyes, "It's a miracle you even can speak English."

Peter chose not to even attempt a response.

"They fell out of your pocket when you pulled out your phone to trade numbers," said Michelle nonchalantly as she tossed Peter's keys to him across the table.

As if she had been to his place a thousand times, Michelle threw her coat over a chair and started unpacking her bag onto the table. Peter, not fully comprehending what was going on, just watched as she started to get ready for their homework session. Too busy pulling a few notes and a laptop out of her bag, Michelle didn't notice his gaze on her.

Peter found himself admiring her. It was things like this that made him so fond of her. She barely even knew him, yet she had the nerve to walk into _his_ apartment, with _his_ keys, and act like everything was perfectly fine. Punching criminals in the face was a pretty crazy activity Peter liked to take part in every once in awhile, yet the idea of just waltzing into someone's apartment seemed uninviting. Michelle was probably one of those strong-minded people who couldn't care less what people thought of her. She could be her normal, yet so _different_ self, and do anything she wanted without a care the world.

Or maybe she was just anxious to get some homework done.

Shaking those wandering thoughts away, Peter couldn't help but notice how quiet the apartment had become. There was a deafening silence between the two teens where no one dared to fill the absence of sound, similar to the uncomfortableness of a being in a quiet public bathroom that contained more than one occupant. He _needed_ to break the silence.

"Loser what's the wifi pass–"

"So, how are you?" asked Peter quickly, trying to (lamely) break the ice, but unintentionally interrupting Michelle. Impeccable timing. _Fan-fucking-tastic_.

Slightly taken aback, Michelle removed her hands from her laptop and slowly responded, "Uh, good. I guess."

Red-faced, Peter just awkwardly nodded. This day just wasn't his day. Or any day, for that matter. A voice pulled him out his self-pity:

"Did– did you just, _bend_ your keys?"

Looking down at his hand, which were clenching his keys a little too tightly, Peter found that he had in fact bent them. His nervousness was probably to blame. And his powers.

"Shit."

His face went redder—if that were even possible—and he tried to reshape his keys, hoping to somehow save the situation. This is not how Peter thought his afternoon was going to go.

Then, a beacon of light shone down upon him: Michelle started to giggle. Uncontrollably, in fact.

The sound was music to his ears. Not only because her laugh was _amazing_ , but because he found some sort of salvation in this god-awful, exhausting, migraine-inducing, and awkward day. Though he did it by making himself look like an idiot, Peter almost gave himself a pat on the back for making her laugh.

Like a switch was turned, the mood lightened considerably. Smiling to himself as Michelle tried to contain herself, Peter decided to use this moment to open their Google doc on his laptop.

"We should, uh, probably get started," said Peter, actually attempting to work.

"Oh! So he speaks!" exclaimed Michelle sarcastically, still chuckling slightly.

Peter smiled, although sheepishly. "Yeah, okay…"

With a more pleasant atmosphere in the room, they both started on their homework after Michelle calmed down, mutually agreeing to try finish their assignment on the Sokovia accords as fast as possible. Because they had both agreed to liking Rogers' view on the Accords, both Peter and Michelle cursed Mr. Hendrick for assigning them Stark's side for their essay. The next hour and a half consisted of minor to heated arguments, furious typing, bathroom breaks, (copy and pasting) and half-assed research before they came out with a presentable final product.

Overall, they worked together very efficiently for two people that still barely knew each other.

"Y'think Mr. Hendrick will like it?" asked Peter, looking over their essay.

Michelle scoffed. "Of course. I wrote it."

Peter raised an eyebrow.

"You helped too," Michelle added cheekily, seemingly pulling a book out of nowhere.

"Very funny." deadpanned Peter, putting away his homework.

Again, a silence ensued, although not nearly as uncomfortable as before. It was still weird, considering that fact that Peter was stuck twiddling his thumbs as Michelle was just casually reading a book across his kitchen table, as if she were anywhere else. Now that they didn't have any homework to complete, Michelle really had no need to be there, although, it would be rude to just ask her to leave. Anyway, he didn't really want her to.

Regardless, Peter was curious of how long she planned on staying.

"So, when do you need to be home?"

"Anytime. It is a Friday after all."

"Hmm," was all the sound Peter could make, not quite sure what she meant by that.

Averting her eyes from her book but not making eye-contact with Peter, Michelle asked in a smaller voice, "I– I could leave. If you want."

Realizing that she had the wrong idea, Peter spluttered out, "Wait– no, that's not what I–" He sighed. "You can stay as long as you'd like. I'm not doing anything."

Her somewhat timid expression turned into a small smile ( _and was that a tinge of pink in her cheeks?_ ) before she quipped, "I didn't realize that you enjoyed my company _that_ much, loser."

"Yeah, well…" he trailed off, face slightly flushed.

Before she could return to her reading, Peter suggested, "We could move to the couch if you'd like."

She appeared to contemplate it for a moment, but Peter didn't give her time to answer.

"My butt's getting kinda sore from these kitchen chairs."

"Too much information, loser," and with that, Michelle got up and moved to the living room, Peter following suit.

Without the distraction of trying to get homework done, Peter suddenly realized the circumstances of the current situation as he sat on the only couch in the room a respectable distance between them. He had a girl in _his_ apartment. Alone. And not just any girl; it was Michelle, his _crush_ , of all people. Internally, Peter started to freak out, feeling two seconds away from passing out. He hadn't really dwelled on the thought too long beforehand, as his little dispute with May had distracted him, but now he was stuck with Michelle in his apartment.

Attempting to strike up a conversation to clear his nerves, Peter ever so casually asked after glancing at her book, "So, uh, how are you liking, um, Lord of– of the Rings?" as he gave a graceless gesture towards her book in hand.

"It's good."

Oh. Okay. Better luck next time Peter.

He turned towards the television and a sudden thought came to mind. He tried again:

"Well, if– if you'd like, we– we could, uh, watch the movies," he stammered out quickly, "When you're done. The books." Smooth.

Finally looking up, Michelle seemed to consider his offer before responding, "I don't know. Sometimes film adaptations are a bit underwhelming after reading the book."

Peter gawked at her, surprised by both the fact that she didn't completely turn down his proposal, but also that she was dismissive about one of the greatest trilogies of all time. "Really? They're some of the best movies out there," he challenged, passionate about his love for the Lord of the Rings films.

"Well, if you're so enthusiastic about it, maybe I might just take you up on that offer," she responded, placing a bookmark between the pages of The Two Towers.

"Alright, sweet," said Peter, nodding his head enthusiastically and making his way towards his room to search through his large film collection.

"But," called Michelle from behind. "You have to read the books in return." Peter could practically hear the smile in her voice as he searched for his Blu Ray box set.

There was a reason Peter liked movies. You could choose to delve deep into its meaning, or just simply be entertained. Books however, required you to soak in every detail and idea that the words presented to you. Peter didn't think he read the brain capacity to actually read a novel willingly; he did go to a _science_ school after all. Anyway, it takes a lot longer to read than it does to watch a movie, obviously.

Peter wanted to turn down Michelle's challenge, yet some mysterious force compelled him to say, "Sure."

He hadn't even realized he had said it out loud until he heard Michelle call back from the living room, "Sounds like a plan, then."

Peter wanted to complain, but he found that the idea wasn't that repulsive. He had always wondered what the books might be like after watching the films so many times, as he wanted to find the differences and see how the author envisioned Middle Earth. But that wasn't the only reason he found himself agreeing to read it. Michelle had suggested it, and where has she ever gone wrong?

Before joining her in the living room again, Peter made his way back to the kitchen, sliding his box set onto the table and making a beeline for the cupboard containing the snacks.

"Hungry?" he asked over his shoulder. "I've got tons of snacks."

"Surprise me."

Peter started searching relentlessly through his dozens of snacks, hoping to find something to impress Michelle. Suddenly it became the hardest task of his life. Would she like something healthy? Or maybe just some junk food. He felt like he was playing pin the tail on the donkey with all this guesswork.

"You almost done there?"

Almost leaping out of his skin, Peter spun around to find Michelle standing a couple feet away, watching him with some sort of amused smirk.

Trying to play it cool, Peter replied, "Oh– oh yeah, I was just about to give you," glancing down at the box of packaged goods in his hand, "our finest selection of fruit roll-ups. An excellent source of vitamin c and a fair amount of calories– "

"You're full of shit, Parker," she laughed, taking the box from his hands. "You weren't kidding," she gestured towards the cupboard Peter had just been rummaging through.

Yeah. Peter had a _ton_ of snacks stowed away, as he needed it to fuel himself. Using his powers kinda requires a lot more energy.

Coming up with something to excuse his apparent overabundance of snacks on the spot, Peter replied with a sheepish smile, "Yeah, I'm, uh, a growing boy, ya know? May can't keep up."

"Hmm."

Peter watched her tear open two packages of fruit roll-ups (both for herself, of course) as he thought of where May had gone to. He hadn't had time to ask her where she was going when she left, but he did know that she ought to be back by now. Something about that just didn't rub him the right way, as a slight _tingle_ ran up his spine.

"Why do you do that so much?"

Snapping out of his reverie, Peter asked, "Uh, do what?"

"Stare at me."

"Oh, uh," Peter stuttered, his mind suddenly going into overdrive, realizing that he had been staring at her again, though by accident. "You're, um, nice to look at?" Peter said, coming out as more of a question.

Her eyes seemed to go wide for a fraction of a second before she shakily replied, "Oh. Well, thanks." She clearly didn't expect that kind of response, though neither did Peter.

"Any– anytime."

As if Michelle sensed their mutual discomfort of the past few seconds, she change the subject. "So, what'd you do to your ceiling?"

Ugh. Peter had hoped she wouldn't notice, although that was very unlikely, considering that there was a gaping hole above their heads showing that structure of the building usually covering by a ceiling.

Stopping when he opened his mouth the speak, Peter realized that any made-up response would be absolutely ridiculous. Even the truth sounded like the words of a lunatic. _Spider-Man pulling down the ceiling while trying to eat upside down? Yeah, right._

"Yeah, uh," covered Peter, "Bruce Banner came over. For the Stark Internship."

Michelle raised an eyebrow.

Peter gulped. "It didn't go so well."

"I thought he went missing–"

"Well," interrupted Peter rather loudly, "maybe I should get started on the first book."

At the mention of reading, Michelle seemed to forget about his rather lame cover story and they made their may back to the couch, snacks in hand.

Sitting back down on the couch, Peter made a move to pull out his laptop before Michelle asked, "What are you doing?"

Freezing, Peter responded, "Finding an online copy of The Fellowship of the–"

"No," she interjected, shaking her head. "Unacceptable."

Peter slowly put away his laptop as Michelle dived into her bag in search of something.

"Aha!" she exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a child as she pulled out a copy of the very book in question.

Peter frowned faintly. "I thought you went to the library to return that."

"No, they were closed today for whatever reason."

"Ah."

"Do you want it or not?"

"Yeah."

Tossing the book to him across the couch, Michelle pulled out her own but paused before resuming her reading.

"I can't believe you were going to read it _online_ ," she said as if the word disgusted her.

"Well, you know, I'm just intimidated by how long it is," he replied, examining the thickness of the book.

"Oh it's not that bad you baby."

Peter stuck his tongue out at her.

Sighing, Michelle said, "I just can't read if it's not on paper. Something about the feel of the pages in your hand is just so soothing. Reading online just takes the joy out of it."

Peter had never really thought about it that way, though he didn't read much books in the first place. Before, he had always thought it was weird, but now he could understand her passion for books.

"Well, I'll keep that in mind."

With that, they fell into silence, both with novels stretched out in front of them. After a ridiculous day like today, Peter was more than glad to have a moment of tranquility. Though he had Michelle over, he felt more at peace with her sitting three feet away, silently reading. The weirdness of having her presence in his apartment faded away for the first time.

Peter breathed out a sigh and started his book.

They had been reading for a good thirty minutes when he felt it again. That tingling feeling. Just as he experienced it earlier not too long ago in the kitchen and when Ned was around the other day, Peter was flooded with many emotions comprising of discomfort, surprise, and dread. Only, this time it was amplified by about ten times. A cold, unsatisfying shiver ran throughout his whole body, making his hairs stand on end and causing him to tremble slightly.

"What's wrong?" asked Michelle from over the top of her book who had noticed his shivering, "are you cold or something?"

"No, I just, uh…" Peter trailed off, feeling his anxiety levels growing rapidly. Trembling ever so slightly, Peter couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen; like he needed get up and _do something_.

"Hold on," he told Michelle, as he threw his book on the coffee table and scanned the living room for a TV remote.

Thrusting his hand between the cushions on the couch, Peter dug around for the small device. Drawing his hand out of the couch with intense speed and fumbling with the buttons, Peter turned on the television.

"Alright Parker, what's going on?" asked Michelle as she put away her book. "Eager to catch the Islanders game?"

Peter ignored her comment and flipped to a news channel hurriedly.

Nothing seemed to catch his eye after a quick scan through a few different channels, though Peter still had a terrible feeling.

"Are you okay, Peter?" came Michelle's concerned voice, who clearly realized that Peter was acting strange.

With sweat starting to form on his forehead, Peter barely registered her question, his mind scanning to find out what was causing him so much grief. It was a familiar feeling, but it felt like the force of it had been dialed up to ten. Recalling what he had been thinking of when he first felt it earlier, he settled on one thing.

May.

"No, I'm not okay."

Something terrible was going to happen to his aunt and he had to act _now_. Peter wasn't sure how he knew, but he was certain somewhere, something was about to go down. He just hoped that _whatever is was_ , it hadn't happened yet.

Peter leaped over the couch, leaving Michelle, and found his legs carrying him to his aunt's room. Bursting through the door he found an empty room and he threw an arm under May's bed, pulling out a red and blue outfit.

Without any hesitation, Peter stripped down and threw the Spider Suit on.

Just as Peter finished suiting up, his heightened senses told him Michelle was approaching the open door. With lightning speed, he threw himself at the handle and slammed the door, reshaping the doorknob in the process.

"What the hell is going on?" came Michelle's troubled voice from the other side. "Are you having a stroke or something?"

"No, no, everything's under control…"

"Bullshit. You're not even in your own room."

Back against the door, Peter realized he was wasting precious time. He needed to leave.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm gonna stay in here for the rest of the night," lied, already planning to leap out of the bedroom window the second he could.

"Could you let me in? You don't seem very–"

"NO!" he panicked. "I– I don't want you to see me like this," he continued truthfully as he glanced down at his suit.

"Well, I'll be out here if you change your mind," she replied stubbornly, sounding frustrated as he heard her footsteps walking away. Wow, Peter really had a knack for pissing women off.

Although Michelle appeared to be staying, Peter found himself relieved that she wouldn't find out about his secret just yet. Making his way toward the window to the streets of Queens, now losing daylight, Peter glanced down at his wrists and stopped in his tracks.

His was out of web fluid. Completely dry.

Cursing the heavens, Peter knew one thing. There was no way around this without Michelle finding out.

Hastily sprinting back, Peter yelled through the door, "Wait!"

He could hear her footsteps stop for a moment before calling back, "What now?"

"Could you bring me my school bag?"

Without answering, Michelle's footsteps could be heard as she made her way to the kitchen table and back to the bedroom door. Each second seemed to drag on for hours.

"Before I give it to you, could you at least me tell what's going on?" came her voice from the other side of the door, seeming worried again.

Peter thought she might ask.

"Just– don't freak out. Please."

This was the type of thing that Peter dreaded. His secret identity was something he worked hard to keep. Michelle wasn't someone he wanted to get involved in all of this. She was just one more person he was putting in danger.

Without any further delay, Peter closed his eyes, turned and swung the door open in one swift move before his nerves got the better of him. Standing in the doorway—red, blue and all—stood Spider-Man.

Cracking open an eye, he found Michelle frozen on the spot, eyes wide and brows raised sky-high with Peter's bag stretched out in front of her. Not waiting for any additional reaction, Peter snatched the bag and seized his extra bottle of web fluid out of the depths of his bag.

Not wasting a second, Peter filled the canister on his wrist as fast as humanly possible and tossed the bottle aside. He didn't dare look for Michelle's reaction as he ran back to the window, but second guessed himself and turned around anyway.

Her reaction could have been anything, from _"I knew it!"_ to _"What the hell?!"_ yet she just stood there. Her initial surprised reaction upon first laying eyes on him seemed to have faded, replaced by a blank stare. No smug smile or angry look, just her eyes on him. Almost trying to study him. To _read_ him. She was good at that, but right now, she looked more lost and confused than ever.

Peter had no words, but he needed to say something. He had more important things going on _out there_ than what was happening in the room they were standing in, yet he found himself searching for something. Anything to say.

Another chill flooded his body, telling him it was time to leave.

Starting to turn back towards the window, the hesitated slightly and then found himself saying, "I'm sorry, MJ."

Getting anxious, Peter seized that moment to jump out of the bedroom window and slip into the evening skies. Wherever his aunt might be, he needed to find her. And now. Letting pure intuition and instinct take over, Peter swung in from building to building, hoping to reach May in time. He wasn't going to fail another person he loved.

* * *

 **A/N:** First off, I am SO sorry for the 4 month wait. I can promise right now that the next part won't take nearly as long to update. I've got some ideas for what comes next (hehehe) so stay tuned.


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